Little Liar by Clare Boyd @bookouture #bookreview #thriller

Title: Little Liar

Author: Clare Boyd

Publisher: Bookouture

Publication Date: February 1, 2018

Page Count: 410

My rating: 4 stars

About the book:

The perfect family… or the perfect lie?

To the outside world, Gemma Bradley has it all – a doting husband, high-flying career and two delightful kids – but inside the four walls of her tastefully renovated home, she is a mother at her wits’ end who has given too many last warnings and counted to ten too many times.

When a child’s scream pierces the night, Gemma’s neighbour does what anyone would do: she calls the police. She wants to make sure that Rosie, the little girl next door, is safe.

Gemma knows she hasn’t done anything wrong, but the more she fights to defend the family she loves, the more her flawless life begins to crumble around her. Is the carefully guarded secret she’s been keeping suddenly in danger of breaking free?

When Rosie disappears, Gemma thinks she only has herself to blame. That is, until she discovers that Rosie has been keeping dark secrets of her own in a pink plastic diary.

Distraught and terrified, Gemma doesn’t know where to turn. The only thing she knows is that her daughter’s life is in danger…

Little Liar is a heart-in-your-mouth psychological thriller about the people we choose to trust and the secrets we keep behind closed doors. If you loved The Girl on the Train, Gone Girl or anything by B.A. Paris you’ll be totally and utterly gripped.

Little Liar by Clare Boyd is being marketed as a psychological thriller but to me it read more like a domestic drama during the majority of the book with a slight hint at a psychological thriller to it. Regardless of what you want to call this one I did find it incredibly compelling to read.

Gemma is a mother that is doing the best that she can for her kids but her daughter, Rosie, has started acting out. Rosie’s attitude can go from 0 to 100 in a split second with tantrums becoming the norm for the family. When Rosie is amidst one of her outbursts the neighbors can overhear her screams which leads to a call to the police.

This story had my attention right from the start and I wasn’t really sure why other than plain curiosity of where it would lead. The neighbor, Mira, was one that really drove me crazy sticking her nose into other’s business without much reasoning. And then I also went back and forth on Gemma since it seemed that obviously her tactics with Rosie weren’t working. But don’t even get me started on what a terror Rosie actually seemed to be. What A Mess!

The further the book got the more engaged I became when things start escalating for Gemma. There are secrets and lies uncovered from about everyone in the story and even times the POV would change to young Rosie as she writes in her diary. Even though this one really bordered more on drama than thriller it still kept my attention waiting to see just how far thing would go. I will say though they did a horrible job with the synopsis on this one though as it gives away things incredibly far into the story but not enough that I knew the outcome.

Wonderful review Carrie. This is my next read and my expectations were quite low since another blogger told me that she DNFed it. I am glad to see that you enjoyed it though and I have a feeling(well I hope) that I will also enjoy it. I like the fact that you described it as a compelling read 🙂

Thanks Diana! I think this one is probably one that will be a hit or miss with readers for a couple of reasons. As I said it didn’t really read much like a psychological thriller but I read a wide range of genres so that didn’t bother me as much as it might some and the characters may just rub some the wrong way too as they aren’t extremely likable.